Struggle –
have difficulty handling or coping with.
strive to achieve or attain something in the face of difficulty or resistance.
a determined effort under difficulties.
synonyms: endeavor, striving, effort, exertion, labor; campaign, battle, crusade, drive, push.
As I was walking through the hospital lobby this morning, I didn’t know whether to tear up or just to immediately resolve that all will eventually be well. The word struggle came to mind. I was thinking…”it appears that I am always in some form of a struggle in my life.” Just a little self-talk as I reflected on the former things that I had endured and the recent seemingly overwhelming challenges that I experience as a mom with a son with a neurodevelopmental disorder and unrelenting asthma. It just doesn’t seem fair sometimes. I tell you no lie, this has been my private and public struggle since I became aware of the fact that I was with child when I was embarking on my 2nd year of college 18 years ago. At that time of my life, struggle for me was truly an extreme difficulty of handling and coping with all the things that I carried on my plate of life. I found it very hard to deal with all my son’s complexities and those of my own that I had not conquered; seeing that I was young and still learning who I was. I, in the term, “struggled a lot.” It can be difficult to deal with something or be forced to become the subject matter expert of something over night with no prior education of, or training of a thing that you are totally unfamiliar with. It’s a daunting task. People will have you thinking that its wrong to feel overwhelmed or unsure of your new-found assignment or assignments. As the cliché’ goes, “The Struggle is Real.” And just to let you know if you have never endured a trying time or two, struggling is real. Life within itself is so super complex and depending on the lot that God gives you when you were born, which you have no rights to claim or remove, you may have inherited something that you may have to struggle with or over. I must acknowledge that people are different and differently we all respond to trials, sickness, adversity, and setbacks and the more. But it’s when the frequency of the challenges intensifies that then we see where struggling can more of a lingering challenge. I am not sure when the idea of struggling became so taboo. There is no way of being extremely well versed in all things and all types of situations. Life and the people whom live in it are way too complex to just understand.
In difficulty, one can learn many things. To have to strive with someone, something, a hard trial, a difficult task, an assignment, finding a remedy to, contending for a trying relationship and the more can bring about the release of the hidden thing that can bring resolve, better understanding, peace, reasoning and beyond to one who may have been in a struggle for some time. I can’t say it enough, that struggling isn’t altogether bad. I think that people don’t like to identify with struggle because they relate it to a weakness or as being identified as one who is weak. When you see someone, who is always seemingly downtrodden all the time and their confession is… “I’m just struggling”, you assume that they have just become complacent with their issue or rather the burdens that they may carry. You assume that they are just wallowing in their crap, their pain, their indecision, their poor decisions, and they just need to get up, leave it their and move on. I’d like to talk to a few of those persons, well I have and it’s just not the case in many instances. As I referred to earlier, the frequency of the challenges that a person endures can really affect how they perceive what they are going through. I will say that how you struggle with something makes the difference. If I am persisting to move against something that is hard or getting in the way of where I need to be then my struggle isn’t negative. It’s one of the vehicles that I use to work against what is working against my effort to get to the next place. It can be an extreme effort to endure and resist failure in the face of any type of adversity.
As for myself, when I think of myself and my various challenges, I do admittedly struggle. I struggle a lot to be completely transparent. Yet my struggle is something that I am so not ashamed of, not in the least. I guess you can say that I may even sometimes boast in my struggle. Struggle also denotes as a determined effort under difficulties. Though I may experience many difficulties in my life, and though I often want to throw in the towel…I can’t. I struggle with and against the challenges that I have in my life. I don’t equally go and create more trouble for myself and seek pity from others by not trying to find solid solutions for the things I can change. I however know that there are somethings afflictions that I have been given specifically and I press toward the mark of not getting rid of them (they won’t all go away) but I look for the best suited solutions that will move me from one platform to the next. Seeking the highest levels of resolve and peace in all things. This process can be a struggle. Most opposing forces, people, and entities aren’t about the business of just folding so that I can find the cure to my issues and eradicate all that gets in the way. So, it may be safe to say that the may have a struggle or two with or over a thing. Many of the struggles that we face will more than likely be internal (with self). We will be forced to make intentional efforts to push against adversities in difficult times. It’s in these times where we decide to cross over the threshold from victim to victor. Struggles won’t be going anywhere, and we can coin or phrase our issues with cute names and post trendy and wordy posts to try to pretend as if we never face challenges, but we do. We all struggle from a time or two and its okay. It’s just how we struggle that determines if it is taboo or with purpose. Victory is my portion and yours today; keep canvassing.